Recent Appearances...

Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Who is Lebanon's Jamaa Islamiya

2024-05-07

[AlMonitor] At least four people, including a child, were reportedly injured by stray bullets in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
’s northern Akkar district during a funeral procession held by the Islamist group al-Jamaa al-Islamiya
...The Islamic Group. Sunni Islamist alignment in Lebanon. The group was founded in 1952 as the Leb branch of the Moslem Brüderbund. Its current leader is Faisal Mawlawi.
The party has a military wing known as the al-Fajr Forces. Currently they have 1 seat in the Lebanese Parliament...
over the weekend.

Members of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya held a funeral procession Sunday in the town of Bebnine for two of the group's fighters. They were killed two days earlier in an Israeli dronezap in the eastern Bekaa region. Heavy gunfire accompanied the procession.

Dozens of masked and gunnies were seen walking the town's streets, brandishing their weapons and firing in the air.

According to the local L’Orient Today news outlet, the stray bullets hit four people, including one woman, a man and a 10-year-old child who were inside their homes when the procession passed. Cars and property in the area were also reportedly damaged by the gunfire.

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya is a Sunni Islamist political group founded in 1964 as the Lebanese branch of the Moslem Brüderbund. The group is present in Sunni-dominated cities and towns in both the south and the north. It is seen as an ally of Hamas
Hamas

...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
and has carried out joint attacks with the group, one of its officials said last month.

Its military wing, al-Fajr Forces, was founded in 1982 to fight the Israeli invasion of Lebanon during the civil war at the time. Its relations with Hezbollah, the dominant Iran-backed Shia murderous Moslem group in Lebanon, have fluctuated. The two took opposite sides during the civil war and in the conflict in Syria, with Jamaa opposing Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
. Their relations have improved in the last two years and as Hezbollah-Hamas coordination increased inside Lebanon.

UNCONTROLLED ARMS
The videos and images of the gunnies in Bebnine sparked widespread outrage among civilians and politicians and renewed the debate about the spread of weapons in the country amid the deterioration of the Lebanese state.

In a post on X on Sunday, independent parliament member Mark Daou condemned the presence of militias as a violation of the country’s illusory sovereignty, calling for the state for arms control.

Ibrahim Mneime, another independent politician, said al-Jamaa al-Islamiya bears responsibility for the "military demonstration" and the fall of the maimed in Akkar. He also condemned what he described as the group maintaining control of these weapons through intimidation.

Gunfire at events like weddings and funerals is common in some parts of Lebanon. Supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah movement are known for firing bursts of bullets in the air when the group’s leader, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...
, delivers his televised speeches.

The practice has killed several people over the years. Most recently, last August, a seven-year-old girl was killed when a stray bullet struck her in the head while she was at a summer camp in the town of Hadath near Beirut.

Arms possession in Lebanon is poorly regulated and many civilians along with Paleostinian and Lebanese factions own firearms. Hezbollah, which is heavily backed by Iran, owns a large arsenal of weapons that includes thousands of rockets, anti-tank missiles and drones.

Amid the controversy, al-Jamaa al-Islamiya issued a statement on its website saying it regretted "the armed convoy and shooting during the funeral procession from Tripol to Bebnine." The statement went on, "Any scene that raises panic and fear among the Lebanese is unacceptable," and "We affirm that the group is keen on the stability of the homeland and the security of citizens."

HOSTILITIES ON ISRAEL-LEBANON BORDER
Since the cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in October, al-Jamaa al-Islamiya’s military wing has claimed several rocket launches toward Israeli territory.

On Friday, two senior commanders of the group were killed when an Israeli dronezap hit their vehicle on a road linking the villages of Sarira and Meidoun in the Bekaa region in the east of the country. The group identified the commanders as Mosab Saeed Khalaf and Bilal Mohammed Khalaf.

Israel confirmed the strike, saying it had killed Mosab Khalaf, who was behind a series of attacks against Israel in Shebaa Farms, a disputed territory in the south near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Iran-backed Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been exchanging heavy fire along the southern border since Oct. 8, the day after the Israel-Hamas war in the Gazoo
Islamic Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response. In October of 2023 Gazooks belonging to Hamas invaded Israel, killed over a thousand people, raped a bunch of women. Then they bitched and moaned about genocide when their butts handed to them in the entirely justified retaliation.
Strip broke out.

Several Paleostinian factions and allied groups inside Lebanon have since joined the battle in support of Hamas.

In a statement on Telegram, Hamas’ military wing the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades grabbed credit for a barrage of rockets fired from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel on Monday.

The Israeli military told Agence La Belle France Presse that 20 rockets were launched toward Israel from Lebanon and that most of the projectiles were intercepted.

Link

Southeast Asia

Thai judge accepts Uyghur bomb suspects request for Halal food

2024-02-26

[BenarNews] A judge on Wednesday ordered Thailand’s corrections system to provide two Uyghur terrorism suspects with the Halal food they have been requesting for years, as the pair appeared in court visibly emaciated and in wheelchairs. Defendants Adem Karadag

…the name on his Turkish passport — for a while Turkey took an interest in the case. He is also known as Bilal Mohammed…

and Yusufu Mieraili are accused of carrying out the Aug. 17, 2015, bombing at the Erawan Shrine

…it contains a four-faced golden statue of the Hindu god Brahma; it’s sacred to Thailand’s Buddhists, and of great interest to foreing tourists…

in central Bangkok that killed 20 people and injured scores more, just weeks after Thai authorities forcibly sent almost 100 Uyghur Moslems to China. They have been in jug since their arrests within two weeks of the attack.

Mieraili shared that "he, at 35, and Karadag, at 39, have significantly deteriorated in health, losing over 10 kg [22 pounds] due to stomach pains and chronic bloating caused by poor living conditions and inconvenient meal arrangements."

The pair — the only two inmates housed at a temporary detention center within a military zone — would skip some meals because they were not provided Halal food as per Islamic principles.

"For three years, they didn’t provide us Halal food. We told them we don’t eat pork, yet they still served it to us, claiming there was no pork. When we ate, we found minced pork and chicken blood. We can’t eat that. We wanted them to arrange proper meals for us," Mieraili told the judge.

His statement proved effective.

"The court will instruct the Department of Corrections to ensure that prisoners are provided food according to their religious rights. Religion is a delicate matter, and a letter will be sent to the prison to arrange Halal food for the defendants as they are entitled," the judge ruled.

Karadag and Mieraili made similar requests for Halal food during court appearances in January 2022 and again in August 2023 — the last time they appeared in court. They returned to the Bangkok court on Tuesday and are expected to attend hearings through Friday.

Since being taken into custody, Mieraili has become fluent in Thai and is able to communicate with his lawyer and interact with prison officials. In court, he served as an interpreter for Karadag who is less proficient in Thai.

"Karadag had to have seven teeth extracted recently and now wears dentures. He has been unable to walk for over six months due to lack of strength, experiencing dizziness upon standing. I had to undergo hernia surgery last week and have been advised by the hospital to remain for another two weeks. Currently, Adem is the only one in the temporary military prison," Mieraili told BenarNews before the court session began.

On Wednesday, defense lawyer Choochat Kanphai said the pair wanted to be transferred from the temporary detention center to the Bangkok Special Prison because they thought living conditions and food would be better, but he was told that such requests were beyond the court’s jurisdiction.

Before court, the attorney spoke to BenarNews about the slow pace of the trial.

"With 50 witnesses already examined out of a list of approximately 100, we expect the verdict could be read next year," Choochat said.

TRIAL HISTORY
Following their arrests, Karadag and Mieraili saw their trial begin in a military court only to have the case transferred to the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court. This shift occurred after Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the army general who became prime minister after leading a military coup in 2014, was formally elected into office in 2019.

The defendants, who identified as Uyghurs from Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in China, pleaded not guilty
"Wudn't me."
in both the military and civilian courts. They could face execution if convicted of charges, which include premeditated killing and possession of explosives.

Chalida Tajaroensuk, director of the People’s Empowerment Foundation, has been monitoring the case over the years and said the likelihood of reaching a verdict in the near future had improved.

"The case has made progress, and it seems that the court is genuinely intent on concluding the case promptly. Orders were given for the prosecution and defense to eliminate unnecessary witnesses," Chalida said.

"The defense’s rigorous questioning aimed at proving discrepancies between actual physical evidence and passport information has raised hopes that both defendants could be acquitted. However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
everything ultimately depends on the court’s judgment."

She expressed her hope for increased attention from civil society and the international community regarding the future of the two if they are acquitted.

"The concern is what happens next for them if they are released. If China seeks their repatriation, it becomes problematic given their decade-long struggle," she said. "We need to collectively consider how to handle this situation, including the possibility of another country offering them asylum, which could ensure their safety."

Link

Southeast Asia

Testimony begins in trial of Uyghurs charged in deadly Bangkok bombing

2022-11-23

[BenarNews] Two Uyghurs charged with detonating a deadly bomb at a popular Hindu shrine in Bangkok seven years ago heard testimony against them in a civilian court Tuesday for the first time in their trial after a series of delays.

At the time Turkey expressed interest in the case, and there was suspicion that Turkey’s Gray Wolves (also in our archives spelt Grey Wolves) were somehow involved.

Adem Karadag

...the name on the Turkish passport he had when arrested...

(alias Bilal Mohammed) and Yusufu Mieraili have seen their death penalty

case disrupted over concerns about the quality of the courtroom translation and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The case began in a military court before being transferred to a civilian one after former junta chief Prayuth Chan-o-cha was elected prime minister in 2019.

Link

Southeast Asia

Uyghur Bombing Suspects Describe Deplorable Conditions in Thai Military Prison

2022-01-18

Y’all confessed and reenacted events for the nice Thai police even before the trial started. Really, just think of this as the beginning of your life sentence — however much longer that might be by the end of the trial — in the hands of those who strongly dislike you for good cause, and be grateful it isn’t considerably worse.

[BenarNews] Two Ugyhur men accused of bombing a Hindu shrine in Bangkok in 2015 told BenarNews through an interpreter on Monday that they have never been permitted to contact relatives, are not allowed time in a prison yard and are sometimes fed pork despite their Moslem faith.
"Pork"
Dressed in brown prison uniforms and wearing handcuffs and leg restraints, Uyghurs Adem Karadag

...the name on the Turkish passport he had when arrested. Reportedly his real name is Bilal Mohammed...

and Yusufu Mieraili spoke to a BenarNews news hound as they left a scheduling hearing in the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court following their first court appearance in two years.

"We are not allowed to make any phone calls in prison," Karadag and Mieraili told BenarNews through an interpreter following the three-hour hearing. "Our families have not heard from us or are even aware of our arrests in 2015."

The defendants said they have no books to read or paper to write on to send letters.

"Some of the meals contain pork even though we are Moslems," they said. "The hardest part is that we are not allowed to step outside of the building and do not get to see the sky."

Karadag and Mieraili have been housed at the military’s Lak Si temporary detention center since their arrests within two weeks of the Aug. 17, 2015, Erawan blast which killed 20 people and injured more than 100 at the popular tourist site. It has been called the deadliest terror attack in modern Thailand.

A military court began hearing the charges against them in 2016 before the case was moved to a Bangkok civilian criminal court in 2019.

Karadag and Mieraili, who identified themselves as Uyghurs from Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in China, pleaded not guilty
"Wudn't me."
before both courts. They could face death sentence

...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
s if convicted of charges including premeditated killing and possession of explosives.

Chuchart Kanpai, the lawyer representing Karadag, said the defense and prosecution teams agreed that testimony would begin late this year.

"The prosecution requested interviews with 424 witnesses," Chuchart told BenarNews. "The next questioning of a witness will be on Nov. 1, 2022."

Mieraili lawyer Jamroen Panonpakakorn said the defendants will seek to question only five to 10 witnesses. The court scheduled sessions for Nov. 1 and 2, Nov. 22 through 25, and Dec. 6 through 9.

DELAYS
Over the years, the trial has been beset by delays linked to interpreters. A lawyer and an NGO worker assisting the Uyghurs with their defense previously said Karadag could not speak Chinese and would prefer a Uyghur-speaking translator while Mieraili can communicate in English, but not fluently.

On Monday, the Uyghurs met an interpreter proposed by the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok and signed documents accepting the arrangement. The interpreter was selected in August 2021 but was not able to travel to Thailand until this month because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chalida Tajaroensuk, director of the People’s Empowerment Foundation, a Thai NGO, expressed concern about the decision.

"The defendant should have a basic right to choose the interpreter because it has a great impact on the case and it is a matter of life and death," Chalida told BenarNews.

"We see that the court does not have an understanding of Uyghur and Chinese politics because the court should not employ an interpreter from the Chinese government under these political circumstances. It shows that this process of hiring an interpreter is not sensible."

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Nigeria: Bandits Kill 84 in Two Weeks, Buhari Expresses Sorrow

2021-07-12

[All Africa] No fewer than 84 people have been killed by suspected bandidos in the last two weeks across the country.

Worst hit are Kaduna and Xamfara States. The situation forced President Muhammadu Buhari to express sorrow.

For some time now, Nigeria has been a hotbed of conflicts. Apart from the perennial conflict between the farmers and herdsmen, there are other notable security challenges, including one posed by bandidos.

Recently, in the North-West, particularly Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna and Kebbi States, the activities of bandidos have been particularly alarming.

The activities of the bandidos' range from kidnapping to murder, robbery, rape, cattle-rustling and the likes. Their modus operandi involves maiming and killing victims with little or no provocations.

For example, on Thursday, 42 people were massacred by bandidos in five communities of Faru District in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

TIMELINE
June 21, A state politician, Muhammad Ahmad, killed by button men in Zamfara

July 4, Kaduna State Government reveals that about seven people were killed by suspected bandidos in Chikun, Kajuru and Giwa Local Government Areas of the state.

July 5, Suspected bandidos kill at least 19 people in an attack on Tsauwa village, Katsina State.

July 6, Bandits kill seven soldiers, injure five others after ambushing troops of the Forward Operational Base and that of the Special Operational Command operating in Kebbi.

July 8, Bandits kill 42 people in five communities of Faru District in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara

July 8, Nigerian Navy man, Bilal Mohammed, Nigerian Army Private Salisu Rabiu killed by bandidos while defending students of Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna State, who were kidnapped by bandidos.

Link

Britain

Teenage boy, 17, is sixth person arrested over Parsons Green bucket bomb attack as police raid address in south London

2017-09-21

[DailyMail]

Police raided the house in Thornton Heath, south London shortly after midnight

A 17-year-old boy was taken to a south London police station for questioning

Officers are continuing to search five houses in connection with the attack

And an earlier Daily Mail article identifies yesterday's arrested painter-decorator:

The man, named as asylum seeker Bilal Mohammed, 25, was pinned down by armed officers in the middle of the street in Newport, South Wales – more than 130 miles from the scene of Friday's attack in London.

Two other suspects, aged 30 and 48, were arrested a few hours later just two miles away in a raid on a 'halfway house' for asylum seekers.

Locals said Mohammed is a Kurdish student and part-time painter and decorator from Iraq, the same country as the teenage refugee suspected of planting the Parsons Green bomb.

Bilal Rehman, an elder at the mosque where Mohammed is said to have worshipped until around six months ago, claimed last night that he may have already been on the police radar. He said: 'He came to the UK when he was 15 or 16 for a safe haven.

'He was a gentle, quiet man who was studying construction or something to do with the building trade at college in Cardiff. But I think he may have already been known to the police. Officers went to his house about a year ago – they found books, I think.'

One local Muslim resident claimed the suspect had recently started receiving visitors in expensive cars from London. He said: 'He was always very humble, happy to be in the UK. But recently he started to receive visitors from people driving Mercedes and Jeeps, expensive cars with registration plates from London dealerships. It was very odd.'

Update at 10:40 a.m. EDT from the headline DM article -- wa haz a photo and a more accurate name for the painter-decorator, or what used to be called a handyman: Mahdi Ramadi, known as Bilal

Link

Southeast Asia

Thai court charges two over Aug. 17th Erawan blast

2015-11-25

Two men have been charged by a military court in Thailand in connection with the bombing of a shrine in the capital Bangkok. Twenty people were killed in the attack on the Erawan Shrine in August.

Authorities say Bilal Mohammed, also known as Adem Karadag, and Yusuf Mieraili have both confessed to their roles in the blast. The two suspects have been indicted on 10 charges, including murder, but not terrorism.

A lawyer for one of the men told the Reuters news agency that the charges included premeditated murder, illegal possession of weapons, and murder.

"The court has accepted the 10 charges that prosecutors formally brought against the two men," said lawyer Schoochart Kanpai.

The two have been in custody for nearly three months.

Documents sent by prosecutors to the court said both men were Chinese nationals from the Muslim Uighur minority. China has long faced criticism for the perceived harsh restrictions it places on religion and culture in Xinjiang, where the majority of Uighurs live.

Here's two examples of why China does have a point...

Thailand recently found itself in the spotlight following its forced repatriation of more than 100 Uighurs to China.

Here's two examples of why Thailand does have a point...

Police have released warrants for a total of 17 people over charges stemming from the attack. They believe many have fled the country.

The motive for the bombing remains unclear.

It's manifestly clear: a bunch of Islamicists blew up a shrine belonging to another religion.

The Erawan shrine - with its four-faced golden statue of the Hindu god Brahma - is considered sacred by Thai Buddhists, and attracts many foreign visitors.

Link

Southeast Asia

Thai police lead key suspects to Bangkok bomb site for re-enactment

2015-09-27

[Hurriyet Daily News] Police in Thailand led two suspects to the scene of last month's Bangkok kaboom for a re-enactment of their alleged crimes on Sept. 26, a day after police said one of the men was responsible for planting the bomb that killed 20 people.

Fourteen foreigners were among those killed in the attack, the worst incident of its kind in Thai history. It dealt a fresh blow to Thailand's important tourism industry, which had just begun to recover after political protests last year.

Police escorted the two men to the shrine and a nearby shopping mall in the Thai capital.

The men, handcuffed and wearing body armor, walked through the re-enactment, a standard Thai police procedure, while bystanders were kept at a distance.

National police front man Prawut Thawornsiri said on Sept. 25 one of the two men was the same yellow-shirted man seen in security footage placing a backpack at the shrine moments before the blast.

Prawut told news hounds at the shrine on Sept. 26 that the first locked away
Please don't kill me!
suspect, who has been referred to both as Bilal Mohammed and Adem Karadag, the name on a Turkish passport he holds, was responsible for the bombing.

"We have now identified him as the one who killed 20 people and injured many others," said Prawut.

Turkish authorities at the time of the men's arrest said his passport was fake.

Karadag, whose nationality remains unconfirmed, wore a yellow shirt on top of his prison uniform and sat on a bench at the shrine during the re-enactment - the same place the man seen in security footage left the backpack containing the bomb.

The second man arrested, Yusufu Mieraili, used a mobile phone to trigger the bomb, Prawut said without giving further details.

Mieraili, dressed in a dark blue shirt, went through his re-enactment near a shopping mall a stone's throw from the shrine, from where police say he detonated the bomb.

Authorities had earlier said it was unlikely that either of the two men detained over the Aug. 17 blast were the bomber in what has been an often contradictory police investigation.

Police had also said they believed Mieraili conspired in the attack but did not detonate the bomb.

Karadag's lawyer, who says his client's real name is Bilal Mohammed, said Karadag maintains he is innocent and had last visited him on Sept. 15.

"The appearance of the yellow shirt man [in CCTV footage] and Adem do not match. I do not believe Adem would confess," lawyer Chuchart Kanphai said.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Three Detained in Links to Tripoli Twin Suicide Attack

2015-01-12

[AnNahar]. The army detained on Sunday three people pending an investigation in links to the twin suicide kaboom in Jabal Mohsen neighborhood in the northern coastal city of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
According to the state-run National News Agency, the three men were detained as part of an investigation into Saturday's attack on a cafe in the flashpoint Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen.

The three have friendship links with the jacket wallahs, NNA said.

Media reports identified them as Ali Kheireddine, Monzer Shamseine and Wael Afioni.

Nine people were killed and 37 others were maimed in the attack.

Al-Qaeda-affilliate al-Nusra
...the current nom de guerre of al-Qaeda in the Levant, which isn't to be confused with al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant...
Front grabbed credit for the blasts via Twitter.

A cafe belonging to the (Alawite Arab) Democratic Party in Jabal Mohsen was targeted with a double martyrdom attack, to avenge the Sunnis in Syria and Leb," read the tweet.

Lebanese security forces believe the bombers lived in Mankubeen, a majority Sunni neighborhood just 500 meters away from Jabal Mohsen.

They were identified as Taha Samir al-Khayyal and Bilal Mohammed al-Meraayan.

The Arab Democratic Party is the main group representing the Alawite minority in Leb.

Residents of Jabal Mohsen support Syria's

Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
, who belongs to an Alawite clan, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, that has ruled the war-torn country for more than 40 years.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Suicide attack at Lebanese cafe kills at least seven

2015-01-11

[REUTERS] A suicide kaboom on a cafe in the Lebanese city of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
killed at least seven people on Saturday, the latest violence to hit a region repeatedly buffeted by violence linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria.

The army said the attack in the predominantly Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen was carried out by one jacket wallah. Leb's National News Agency said it was a double suicide kaboom and gave the names of two attackers it said were from Tripoli.

Leb's Health Ministry put the corpse count at seven but officials said nine people were killed, not including the bombers.

Three dozen other people were maimed in the attack. The governor of northern Leb ordered a curfew until 7 a.m. in Jabal Mohsen and the army set up a security cordon around the cafe, the National News Agency reported.

An Nahar adds to the confusion thusly:

The National New Agency said that a jacket wallah blew himself at Cafe Omran in Jabal Mohsen and when the residents of the area gathered another suicide bomber went kaboom!.

"The two suicide bombers who blew themselves up in Jabal Mohsen are Taha Samir Kayyal and Bilal Mohammed Ibrahim from Tripoli's al-Mankobeen," it added.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Several Arrested in Hadath, Haret Hreik over Attacking Troops

2014-05-19

[AnNahar] Several people were tossed in the clink
You have the right to remain silent...
on Saturday in the suburbs of Beirut on charges of opening fire and attacking army troops.

"An army force raided the St. Therese-Hadath region looking for runaways and managed to arrest Jalal Mohammed Jaafar and Moussa Mohammed Jaafar," the military institution said in a communique.

The statement clarified that both runaways are wanted on charges of attacking army troops.

The troops also seized a quantity of hashish, light ammunition, military equipment and a fake identification document during the raid.

And on Friday evening, an army force arrested Sami Ghaleb al-Husseini and Paleostinian national Bilal Mohammed al-Saleh in the Haret Hreik area in Beirut's southern suburbs.

They are both wanted on charges of opening fire, the army communique revealed.

The army announced on Thursday the arrest of Mahdi Sobhi Siblani for repeatedly opening fire, and Imad Makkouk for possessing and smuggling illegal substance in Dahieh.

The arrests come as troops are implementing a security plan in the North, the Bekaa and in Beirut, which resulted in the arrest of several dangerous runaways while other turned themselves in.

Link

Britain

Young British Muslim ex-prisoners unrepentant on views

2010-02-08

Two young British Muslims who have served short prison sentences for terrorism offences have spoken frankly about their views to a new BBC documentary investigation into the extent of the radicalisation of Muslims in the UK. The views of Rizwan Ditta and Bilal Mohammed, two young Muslims born and brought up in Halifax, West Yorkshire, will be anathema to the vast majority of the British people including many British Muslims.

Ditta claims: "You can go to any [Muslim] youth on the street and say, 'Do you believe in Jihad?' and he'll say 'Yes'. 'Do you believe that al-Qaeda is a terrorist movement?' He'll say, 'No'." Bilal says: "The Western world is not letting anyone live in peace. It's the West who are at war with everyone."

The two are close friends. Both received prison sentences for possessing material likely to be useful to terrorists, most of it downloaded from the internet. Ditta was sentenced to four years and Mohammed to two. Both had pleaded guilty. Mohammed has the dubious distinction of being the first to be convicted under the new offence of glorifying terrorism.

They were released last year and are now out on licence with strict conditions. Both are unrepentant. Mohammed says that he was welcomed home with flowers and presents. He claims that none of the Muslim community views him as a terrorist. "They gave me support and comfort, saying everything is alright. Don't worry, you didn't do anything."

He reminded me of the reception that many IRA prisoners received when they returned home from the Maze prison.

There are an unknown number of sympathisers who, whilst not necessarily giving direct support to al-Qaeda and its surrogate groupings, nevertheless have some sympathy with their ideology and share a sense of grievance over Western foreign policy over Israel and the Palestinians, Iraq, and Afghanistan. But Ditta and Mohammed are the angry voices of an extreme element of young British Muslims today. MI5 believes there are about 2,000 extremists in the UK who pose a potential threat

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More